It’s hard to say who’d be most deserving of the role being that Pikachu has held it for so long. An argument can be made it should be Eevee due to it being the rival Pokemon in Pokemon Yellow(the only game with Pikachu as a starter) and the fact we have LGP/LGE coming our way. Furthermore, its always been thrust back into the spotlight with a new Eevolution(be it Gen 2, Gen 4 or most recently Gen 6 with Sylveon). Who’s to say that won’t be the case again with Gen 8 and/or LGP/LGE.

Hmm Jigglypuff could work considering it was the only Pokemon to debut with Pikachu in SSB(aka Super Smash Brothers). However, I’m not sure a floating Balloon would connect as well as Eevee or even Vulpix. Curious to see what others have to say on this.

Seems Jigglypuff is a relatively popular choice and so is Eevee. Do you guys see later gen pokemon succeeding the mascot role as well as some gen 1 pokemon would?

Vulpix: Brock(a popular Gen 1-4 character) raised one back in Kanto and well into Johto before giving it back to Suzie. It got reinvigorated with Lillie and its new Alolan variant. Since Lillie is basically the best, F-the rest in the Pokemon writers minds, I could potentially see Vulpix as a Pokemon mascot.

Cyndaquil: Cute Johto Fire Type that Ash had in addition to Dawn(where she got one to promote HGSS during Lyra/Khoury arc).

Greninja: Ninja-like characters are popular in Japan. Case in point is Naruto and don't be surprised if Lycanroc grows in popularity due to its Red-Eyes(which are similar to Sasuke in the same Anime).

Umbreon & Espeon: Both are Eevolutions and both are complete opposites of one another. In a way they could have replaced Solgaleo and Lunala on Sun and Moon's covers.

Sylveon: Epitomizes Fairy Types and is the signature Pokemon of Serena's Team.

Even before the promotion of Eevee the last couple of years, I'd always said that it would make a strong mascot, since it's the right amount of cute, and it showcases the mechanic of evolution better than pretty much any Pokemon family in the game. Glad to see that it's finally getting a bigger spotlight these days.

Aside from Eevee, I think a mascot duo of Mew and Mewtwo could've worked well, especially if they went all in right around the original Pokemon movie. I think Mewtwo is still one of the most recognized Pokemon to this day, even though it isn't marketed as much as some other Pokemon.

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Do you guys see later gen pokemon succeeding the mascot role as well as some gen 1 pokemon would?

Never as the #1 mascot. Some of them have been featured alongside Pikachu and have had a bit of time to shine, but the only way a non-gen 1 Pokemon would have been able to become the top mascot is if they were introduced early enough that Pokemon was still at the height of its popularity. That leaves very few options- Ho-Oh, Togepi, Marill, Snubbull, Bellossom, Donphan, and maybe one or two more. Marill or Togepi could've worked as supporting mascots, but I don't think either could've outright replaced Pikachu.

I don't have a problem with Pikachu as a Pokémon. But considering what happened to it, and how overdone and omnipresent it became, I don't think a Pokémon should be the mascot of the franchise. It should have an icon, and the Poké Ball is perfect for it.

That said, if I were to choose, I'd put the three Kanto starters as a mascot trio. Or Mew, due to its rarity and mythical status.

Bruh, Meowth... got a speaking role in the show, and they've got an approachable design - you can tell what they are, anyway. (Actually, would it be too jinx-y to rep your franchise with a symbol of luck and financial gain?) But they've even got their own self-contained gimmick with the whole "Pay Day" thing. Maybe not representative of the series as a whole, but he could be the mascot of something.

I'd totally want to see a world where Clefairy beat out Pikachu as mascot, too. You don't see many pretty-pink mascots for gender-neutral audiences, you know. I'd want to see how the franchise would adapt. Maybe market itself more towards chicks? That'd be psyducking dope.

I'm quite happy with the push to Eevee; my favorite pokemon is an Eeveelution after all! Other than that, Greninja and Lucario are kinda the go-to "cool" pokemon, plus they're already represented in Smash! Mewtwo is another iconic legendary.

But if we're going for something cute and recent as an update to Pikachu, I'd nominate Rockruff!

^ I've always wondered if the franchise would've boomed quite like it did if a pink fairy Pokemon ended up being the mascot. I still have no doubt it would've been successful, but maybe not the multimedia empire that it is today.

Then again, Sanrio/Hello Kitty is one of Japan's most successful brands, so maybe with a bit of tweaking to their formula, they would've had success all the same.

Either Meowth or Clefairy-- marketable Normal-types with two-stage evolutions.
Or probably the starters.

Two things regarding Clefairy. It had a pre-evolution in Cleffa introduced in Generation 2(hence its a 3 stage evolution Pokemon now) and in Generation 6, its typing changed from Normal to Fairy. Otherwise your choices aren't half bad. Granted I think Eevee and other Pokemon have the upper hand right now if Pikachu was ever replaced.

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